Works Out
"Works Out" is the ninth episode of season three and the thirty-first episode overall of the animated children's series The Magic School Bus. It originally aired on November 9th, 1996. Summary At this year's Teacher-athalon, Ms. Frizzle squares off with Mr. Sinew, a muscle-bound gym teacher championed by Janet. The first event is rowing, and Mr. Sinew easily wins after Ms. Frizzle gets the hiccups and Ralphie tells her to hold her breath while she finishes the race. Thinking there's a problem, the class (except for Tim) goes inside her to check her out. The bus takes them through her lungs to her bloodstream, where they get pumped through her heart to her calf muscle. But when it collapses from the strain of winning the second event, they discover that her red blood cells can't get oxygen to her muscles fast enough! They help restore them and she goes on to win the third event. Plot Ralphie is training Ms. Frizzle for this year's Teacher-athalon and the teacher tells Ralphie that muscles aren't everything. When the two job outside, Ralphie comes to a stop to rest and catch his breath. Suddenly, the bus gets a flat tire and the class uses an air pump to pump up the tire. When Arnold says he could use just as much air as the tire, Ms. Frizzle tells him that his lungs are part of the team, which prompts Janet to come around to inform the class about Mr. Sinew, who is competing against Ms. Frizzle in the annual Teacher-athalon. Mr. Sinew approaches Ms. Frizzle and wishes her luck in the competition. Ms. Frizzle informs the class that there is more to winning than just muscles, which are only part of the team. The Teacher-athalon starts, with Harry Arm as the commentator, and the winner takes home the trophy. The first event is the rowboat across the lake, and the first one to the end wins. The event starts and during the boat ride, Ms. Frizzle capriciously gets the hiccups. So Ralphie encourages her to hold her breath, only for Mr. Sinew to win the rowboat event. Ms. Frizzle tells the class that her muscles gave out and Keesha informs that rowing your boat while holding your breath isn't feasible. When Ralphie asks an erudite question of how breathing affects the muscles, Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the bus. While the class are in the bus, Liz activates the screen that shows the inside of Ms. Frizzle's body circulation. The class see that the red liquid is the blood flowing and the sacks next to the heart are the lungs. Wanda notices that the blood in Ms. Frizzle's body goes from the heart to the lungs and reverts back to the heart, as well as everywhere else. The class then gets a look at Ms. Frizzle's leg muscles. After Ralphie asks again what effect holding your breath has on the muscles, Ms. Frizzle tells him that he needs a "closer look" and exits the bus, with Tim following along with her. The bus transforms microscopically and Liz accelerates it up Ms. Frizzle's nose. As the bus makes its way inside, it heads down Ms. Frizzle's trachea and to her left lung. As they make it inside, they view blood cells flowing and Dorothy Ann reminds Ralphie of the time the class took a field trip inside his bloodstream when he was sick (from the episode Inside Ralphie). Ralphie then learns that when the air hits the purple blood cells, they suck it up and turn red, which happens every time Ms. Frizzle breaths in, which prompts the class to realize that the air doesn't stop there. So the bus follows the air and travels through the bloodstream to find out where it goes. When they hear an incessant pounding sound, Ms. Frizzle informs the class that they are traveling to her heart. As Ms. Frizzle narrowly makes it to the bicycle event on time, the class makes it back in the bloodstream and realize that the blood is flowing faster as they move farther down to her leg. They then come across red bands that D.A. reads in her book called the muscle fiber, prompting Ralphie to order the bus to a stop. He realizes that the red blood cells are giving the air to the muscles and turning back to purple. So Ralphie dresses in a wetsuit and exits the bus to get a closer look. He finally learns that the red blood cells are giving the muscle fiber air. Arnold also says that the white stuff is oxygen for the muscle fiber, and D.A. reads in her book that oxygen is the air used for a body's life support. The class then learns that the lungs breath air, the blood cells carry the oxygen, and the heart pumps the blood to the muscles, which uses the oxygen. This prompts Ralphie to finally figure that the whole team for body circulation is lungs, blood, heart, and muscles, which works together. The class also learns that they work together as the "oxygen team", which works together to put oxygen into the body, pump it into the muscles, use the oxygen up, and carry away the used-up stuff. This prompts them to learn that the muscles never got the oxygen they needed once Ms. Frizzle held her breath, so therefore, she was unable to finished the rowboat event. The class then learn that Ms. Frizzle had an oxygen problem and Phoebe notices gray substances multiplying throughout the muscle fiber, as well as less oxygen going into the muscles. Back outside the Teacher-athalon, Ms. Frizzle wins the bicycle event, evening the score to one victory a piece. Unfortunately, Ms. Frizzle becomes exhausted and falls over to the ground. Ms. Frizzle feels that she just needs a few minutes to let her muscles recover. But Janet reminds her that she doesn't have a few minutes and Mr. Sinew encourages her to give up. Tim asks the class what is going on inside and Ralphie responds that Ms. Frizzle's leg muscles stopped working due to not having enough oxygen. The teacher tells the class that the white ooze is called lactic acid, which muscles make when they have to work without enough oxygen. Since the final event is imminent and Ms. Frizzle doesn't have enough time to rest, Ralphie devises a plan for the class to get enough oxygen inside her muscles as quick as possible. Liz drives the bus and offers the class a mop each to clean out the lactic acid. They, however, need to put more oxygen inside the muscles. So they deflate the air out of the bus tire and spray it onto the muscle fiber, rejuvenating them as Ms. Frizzle finally gets her stamina back. The class hops back onto the bus and exit Ms. Frizzle's body just in time to watch Ms. Frizzle win the final racing event of the Teacher-athlon. When asked by Janet how the Friz could prevail against Mr. Sinew, the class explains that it was all thanks to the team of Ms. Frizzle's body: her lungs, heart, blood, and muscles, as well as the class themselves. Mr. Sinew also congratulates Ms. Frizzle for her determination and Ms. Frizzle tells him that she won't be able to train for next year's Teacher-athalon, stating "air today, gone tomorrow". Trivia * Harry Arm from "In the Arctic" makes his second appearance. * This is Janet's third appearance for the season, fifth overall. * Dan Marino, who voiced Mr. Sinew, is the legendary former quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. He played himself in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, in which he was blamed by the fictional Dolphins kicker, Ray Finkle, for causing him to miss the winning field goal in Super Bowl XVII because Marino didn't hold the football "laces out." * This is the second time the kids go into a bloodstream. The first is in Inside Ralphie. Category:Episodes Category:Episodes focusing on Ms. Frizzle Category:Episodes focusing on Ralphie Category:Episodes focusing on Janet Category:Episodes focusing on Tim Category:Season 3 episodes